The Bayfield High School boys basketball team watched a 12-point fourth quarter lead slip through its fingers when Keith Romero hit a tying 3-pointer from his own free throw line with less than a second to go, then lost its Intermountain League opener to Monte Vista 58-55 in overtime.

“I thought we had it wrapped up with 1 second to go, and the kid made an amazing shot,” BHS head coach Bill Hesford said.

“The gym went crazy when that kid made that shot, and it took the air out of us. It was tough to play in that overtime. The gym got really rowdy.”

The Wolverines trailed the Pirates by six at halftime, largely settling for jump shots in the first half, and “that wasn’t working out.”

After the break, it started working better.

“We played our best second half,” Hesford said. “Things were smooth on offense. We were getting good looks.”

But the Pirates’ run in the final few minutes negated all of it.

Hesford said John Fisher had a big night off the bench with 10 rebounds, four points and three assists. Preston Hardy had 16 points and seven rebounds, Geoff Pope scored 16 with five rebounds, and Joey Webb added nine points and eight rebounds.